Senior forward Anya Covington scored a career-high 23 points and matched her career high in rebounds with 12 as Wisconsin (2-5 Big Ten, 6-13 overall) handily defeated the Northwestern Wildcats (2-5, 12-8) 75-55 Sunday afternoon at the Kohl Center.
Senior guard Morgan Paige set a Kohl Center record by hitting six three-point shots. She finished with 20 points.
The Badgers have only one player averaging double figures in scoring on the season-junior guard Taylor Wurtz at 15.4 ppg-but had two players with at least 14 points in just the first half. Paige had 17 points at the break and was 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. Covington was 7-of-12 from the floor and had 14 at the intermission.
"This game gives us confidence to know that more than one person can put the ball in the basket," head coach Bobbie Kelsey said. "We're very capable [of having a balanced scoring attack] and we showed that today in front of a great crowd."
Northwestern head coach Joe McKeown acknowledged that his team maybe paid a little too much attention on Wurtz, which allowed Covington and Paige some extra breathing room. Wurtz had just five points at halftime but ultimately ended up with 15.
"She's the one they look for every time down the floor, you know she does a good job of getting open, drawing contact," McKeown said.
Northwestern found themselves down 41-24 at halftime and were trailing by as much as 25 but did manage to pull themselves to within 12 with 11:11 left in the second half. That's when Wurtz stepped up and hit a clutch three-point shot in the corner to start an 11-0 run.
"That was big time," Kelsey said. "And a heck of a screen by [senior forward] Ashley [Thomas]. Taylor hit that shot but it was other people that made it happen."
Covington dominated the Wildcats for the first portion of the first half by scoring eight points in the first 6:50 of the game, but Paige did even more damage in the second part of the first half. The 5-foot-9 guard hit four of her five first half three-point shots in just a 2:41 stretch starting with 4:49 remaining in the half. The Marion, Iowa native said she has put in some extra time in her shooting, and it seems to be paying off. Paige also hit six three pointers in the teams last game, which was a loss last Thursday against Iowa.
"I've been putting some extra time in with my shot and just fixing some of the little glitches," she said. "The extra reps have really been helping."
McKeown was highly respectful of what he called a "dangerous" Badgers team and was glad this was the only regular season meeting between the two teams.
"When you watch them on tape, they've played really well in the conference as far as being competitive," he said. "They haven't won a lot of games but they've been in every game."
The Badgers also find themselves in a relatively soft portion of their schedule as this contest marked the first of five straight games against teams not ranked in either poll. The Badgers recently finished up a stretch of playing five of six teams that were ranked at the time. In fact, the Badgers own the 16th-toughest schedule in the nation according to RealTimeRPI.com.
Junior forward Dannielle Diamant recorded a double-double and led the Wildcats offensively. She finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 4-of-10 from the floor.
The Badgers get back to action Thursday at Minnesota. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
